Monthly Archives: November 2014

The youthful team who appear to have been central to the recent success of the bid for Ireland to host the World Rover Moot in 2021 were a breath of fresh air in what can often look like a somewhat jaded leadership line up in Scouting Ireland with many faces that seem to have been hogging National Roles for decades.

Conspicuous among the youthful team were some occupants of National youth positions, including the ‘yoof’ section of the National Management Committee (those members aged 26 and under at time of election).

There are many pleasant duties allocated to the scouters in a given programme section. It could be reasonably argued that merely being in the presence of an enthusiastic group of young people and watching them learn and grow together is a pleasant responsibility in itself.

With the characteristically deflective wording worthy of a Communist party press release, the coterie of pen pushers who delight in the generation of red tape at Scouting Ireland announced in a letter on October 16th to members that ‘it has been decided’ to introduce a Scouting Ireland membership card’. A bizarrely worded justification appeared a few days later on the website scouts.ie.

The seemingly ever-increasing administrative burden imposed by Scouting Ireland on volunteers in local Scout Groups will now be joined by an added financial burden. Increases in registration fees for adults are due (a €5 increase per member), alongside a new raffle levy (10% of earnings). Both initiatives are expected imminently.